- Reps Summon Dangote, NMDPRA Boss Over Downstream Oil Sector Rift
- Lawmakers ordered both sides to halt media exchanges pending investigation.
- Allegations include corruption claims and refinery capacity concerns.
The House of Representatives has summoned President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority following rising tensions and public allegations rocking the downstream oil sector.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the summons followed an emergency meeting of a joint committee of the House, co chaired by Hon Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere and Hon Henry Okogie. Lawmakers described the growing dispute as a potential threat to the fragile stability achieved in the sector after the removal of fuel subsidy.
The committee directed both parties to immediately halt media exchanges while the National Assembly conducts a legislative probe, assuring that the investigation would be swift and concluded within days.
Ugochinyere said the intervention became necessary to prevent the crisis from escalating further.
He said, “The key issue that necessitated this emergency meeting was the growing tension that has returned to the downstream sector as a result of concerns and allegations raised by Alhaji Aliko Dangote against the NMDPRA.
“This is coming at a time when the committee is jealously guarding the stability that has been achieved in the sector.”
According to the lawmaker, identifying the root causes of the dispute is essential to finding lasting solutions.
“We can only find sustainable solutions when we identify the critical issues leading to this tension. That is why the committee resolved to write to Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the NMDPRA chief to meet with us and give insights into what is driving these allegations and counter allegations,” he said.
The committee also appealed for restraint from both sides.
“We resolved to plead with the contending parties to cease fire, especially media comments, so that the situation does not escalate further,” Ugochinyere added.
The crisis escalated after Dangote, speaking at his Lekki refinery, accused NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed of corruption. Dangote alleged that Ahmed spent five million dollars on six years of secondary education abroad for four of his children, questioning how such expenses could be afforded by a public servant.
He said taxpayers deserved accountability and questioned why a public official could afford to spend millions of dollars on foreign education if public funds were properly managed.
As of the time of filing this report, the NMDPRA had not issued a formal response to the allegation.
The committee disclosed that it had received petitions on issues including the issuance of import licences and concerns over the actual capacity of local refineries to meet Nigeria’s daily fuel demand.
“These are serious issues. Some relate to import licences, others to whether local refineries can produce enough to satisfy national demand which the investigation undertaken by the committee will resolve,” Ugochinyere said.
He assured that all stakeholders would be thoroughly examined, adding that the engagement would lead to resolutions capable of stabilising the sector.
